The Tigers fell to Kansas 80-60 in this season's Border War, just one year after upsetting the No. 1 ranked Jayhawks in 2024's edition. Offensively, Missouri never found any rhythm, and no one outside of Mark Mitchell, who led the team with 21 points, was able to step up and carry the Tigers.
But despite the lopsided loss, Missouri head coach Dennis Gates touted the matchup as the best rivalry in the country.
"At its best, you can look at any rivalry across the country, there's only one that comes close to it, right--Illinois vs Missouri," said Gates. "At the end of the day, this game is supposed to continue, and it should never stop."
Gates pushing for Kansas rivalry to continue despite tough loss
While coach Gates is adamant the rivalry should continue, Kansas coach Bill Self seems less enthused.
"You schedule based on where you can go make some money, because that's the world we're living in. That Player's Era deal... It's hard to pass those things up," Self said.
The current contract of the Border War being played in Kansas City still has one year remaining, with the Tigers set to host next year's battle. But Kansas has long been a far better team, and this year's game didn't do anything to dispell that notion. The Tigers fall to 8-2 on the season after suffering back-to-back losses.